The Life of an Ally-Cat
by amy.ward.906
Summary: Living in Perfection Nevada has never been perfect for any of its residents. Things really go for a tail-spin when Allison Reed comes to live with her Uncle Tyler. Now that she has settled in, what kinds of crazy will befall this small desert living group?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this is set several months after the events of Tremors Cont.**

"Time to wake up chickpea." Said a voice, breaking through her blissful slumber. Barely awake, her mind recognized the voice as her Uncle Tyler. Living with him since the death of her parents had been quite an adventure, but being woken up by her uncle sucked. It was summer, she didn't have homeschooling right now so why couldn't she sleep in? Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she saw the time.

6:30 AM. ' _You have got to be kidding me'_ the sarcastic part of her brain said.

"Mmph," she mumbled rolling over, burying herself under her covers and trying to go back to sleep. However that didn't work. The bed dipped as her Uncle Tyler sat down and pulled the covers off of her. Living in the desert made it chilly in the morning, so lack of covers was never good. She shivered before rolling over onto her back and glaring at the face directly above her. Through her half sleepy eyes, becoming more awake by the second, she saw her uncle's goofy grin. _'How in the heck can he be that awake this early?'_

"Uncle Tyler," she whined, while pouting at him.

Ruffling her hair, he said, "Out of bed, chickpea." Tyler only moved when his niece was sitting up and pushing him to move so she could head to the bathroom while he went in the kitchen to make breakfast. The two of them were no longer living in the garage; there just hadn't been enough room for both of them in that space, so Twitchell had approved (reluctantly!) a singlewide two bedroom trailer to be attached to the garage, only a few weeks after Allison had moved in. As breakfast was cooking on the stove, it would seem yet another day in the Valley had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

_A few days later…_

The sun was barely over the valley when Allison woke up. Shutting off her alarm before it woke her uncle, she got up and went through her morning routine. Leaving him a note, she left the trailer and went out for a run.

Her iPod playing her workout music in her ears and her feet hitting the valley floor, she enjoyed the peacefulness of the early morning. Coming to a spot in the valley, she stopped to catch her breath and watched the clear blue sky. It was at times like this that Perfection Valley really did seem perfect.

Then she felt her wrist-sizmo go off. _'Spoke too_ soon' she thought and immediately got on the highest rock in the area. She kept her ears open and her eyes on the ground. She heard El Blanco just over the ridge…but she didn't see him. She didn't see the Graboid. _'That's strange. Usually I see his dust or something'_

Hopping across the rocks, always staying on the high ones, she heard the noise of the Graboid again, but this time the noise reminded of the stories she was told after she moved in with her uncle. ' _That sound…but El Blanco can't re-produce. Can he?'_

Looking down, trying to see if there was any ground disturbance from the nearby Graboid, she noticed something. Bending her knees, she carefully and quickly picked up what she saw off a low rock. Holding the object in her hand she swore she recognized it from somewhere…

 _'That's it!'_ she thought as recognition clicked in her mind. About a month after she had moved in with her uncle, she was introduced to the former residents of the valley who stopped by to visit. One of them being Earl Basset, who besides telling Allison stories had also brought his wife Kate. Kate had brought a fossilized pre-Cambrian rock, which had been a spike from a Graboid.

That meant this spike belonged to a Graboid and the only Graboid in the area was El Blanco.

 ** _Inhumane cry!_**

There it was again and the noise made her heart break, even it had come from something that could kill them. Taking off across the rocks in the direction of the noise, she found El Blanco.

* * *

Lying next to one of the tall rocks was the Graboid, who was missing half his spikes. Allison could see them scattered across the desert floor. On the nearby rock she noticed some blood.

Right then the Graboid let out another cry before its tongues came out, spitting out bits of fur, probably belonging to its recent meal. After seeing some paw prints in the dirt, her mind started to form a rough idea of what had happened.

El Blanco most likely rose up to grab the animal and on the way either up or down, scraped its body against the rocks, injuring itself. To make matters worse, this was not a good spot for the Graboid to be land-ridden. There was no shade and no food or water within reach.

 _'If El Blanco dies, then the valley is no longer protected.'_ She remembered this from what Nancy and Jodi had told her. Some creep named Melvin, who had lived here ages ago, had tried once to get rid of the Graboid so that he turn the Valley into some kind of suburbs or something. Allison hated that and knew if she ever met this Melvin, she would kick the greasy haired weasel where the sun didn't shine.

Shaking her head away clear of vengeful thoughts, Allison knew she had to give the Graboid some water before she went to go get help. Throwing down a few pebbles, the tongues came out and she poured some water from her canteen on her side onto the ground. The tongues lapped it up before retreating back into the creature's mouth.

 _'Okay, hydration is taken care of. Now I just have to give it some shade. Maybe some brush…'_

Looking around she realized she might need Burt's help for this. Running back to town, she saw Jody was by her car. Running over she asked, "Hey where's Burt?" Usually he was sitting outside the store this time of the morning.

"He's gone for the week." _'There goes that idea.'_ "Where are you going?" she asked Jodi, seeing that she was getting ready to go somewhere.

"I'm headed into Bixby to stock up on supplies for the store."

 _'El Blanco needs food and shelter. I can fix something temporary until I can get a hold of Burt. I'll radio him later.'_ thought Allison. "Can I come?" she asked Jodi.

"Sure. I would appreciate the help." Stocking the store was always a hassle, so having two people would make the job a bit easier.

"Okay, just give me a minute." Running inside the house and grabbing her allowance she had saved, she counted it out. But after figuring the amount she wasn't sure if it would be enough. Then hearing some noise coming from the garage, she ran outside and found her uncle tinkering with the Jeep. "Hey Uncle Tyler, can I have some money?"

"Going with Jodi to Bixby?" Tyler asked his niece.

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"Okay," he said giving Allison $50.00. "You can help me with some upcoming tours."

"Thanks," she exclaimed and hugged her uncle before going back to to Jodi. Getting in the car, the two of them went into Bixby.


	3. Chapter 3

Arriving in one of the more reasonably priced grocery stores in Bixby about 45 minutes later, Allison got out of the car and got a shopping cart. Pushing the cart, Jodi took out her list and went through the store putting things in the cart. Allison and Jodi chatted while shopping about random things. It was nice because other than Rosita, Jodi was the only other woman in the Valley close to her age. Nancy was more like an aunt or a mother figure to the teenager.

While in the meat department, Jodi was looking over the meat prices and then chatting with the butcher. During this, Allison threw a few pieces of meat she wanted of her own into the cart. Just before they checked out, Allison saw a hammock near the summer sale section, priced 30% off which brought the price down to $20. She knew it would be perfect in aiding El Blanco with shade. All she had to do was attach it to something then cover the top with some foliage. Picking up the box she heaved it into the cart and paid for it along with the pieces of meat and other groceries she had wanted.

It was almost an hour and a half later before the two women got back to the Perfection Valley border, no thanks to a traffic accident just outside of Bixby. But they finally arrived, and once they were back in front of the store, she helped Jodi put things away before grabbing her purchases and heading back over to the trailer. Putting away her own groceries, she then put a few of the meat-based purchases into an army surplus backpack she had gotten from Burt once she started school. Then she took the hammock from its box and went back outside and headed back into the valley, hammock in her hands and backpack on her back. Reaching El Blanco, she noticed the Graboid had gotten a bit worse in her short absence.

Carefully setting up the hammock and putting some brush over it, she poured a bit of water over the Graboid to keep its body from drying out. Cautiously she touched the creature, knowing El Blanco had never felt a human touch. It shivered a bit at first at the strange feeling, but not having the energy to fight, it relaxed. Knowing that she could touch El Blanco safely, she rubbed the water on its dry she gave it some water, using the same method as last time, throwing down some pebbles which caused its tongues to come out and lap up the liquid she poured on the ground.

Once she knew that El Blanco was safe from de-hydration, she pulled out the hamburger and boneless pork chops she had bought in Bixby, from her backpack. Taking them from the Styrofoam packaging, she threw the raw meat down on the ground. The Graboid's tongues came out and licked it, taste testing the strange new food before retreating back into the mouth.

Allison was frustrated and today it was hot out here, more than usual. "Look Graboid," she said, her teeth clenched, "I am not capturing a live animal for you. So for now processed meat is all you get. Take it or leave it." Surprisingly a few seconds later, the tongues came back out and wrapped around the meat, taking the food into its mouth. This shocked her and she stood there for a minute or two before heading back into town, curiosity running through her mind.

Once back in town, she put her backpack back in the trailer and then went over to the store. "Hey Jodi, can I borrow your laptop?" Allison asked.

"Yeah sure," Jodi replied. "Just don't be on it too long. The battery is close to dying and I need to special order something for Burt.

"I won't be. I just need to look up something real quick." Allison told Jodi before taking the laptop and looking up research articles regarding voice patterns and vibrations. Clicking on a few links, she glanced over some reports and graphs, before returning the laptop to Jodi and thanking her. Heading back to the trailer, she lay on her bed, deep in thought. _'I wonder how much El Blanco understands us?'_


	4. Chapter 4

As Allison lay on her bed, deep in thought, she knew she needed help in protecting the Graboid. So, she figured now was as good a time as any to try and get in touch with Burt. Leaving her bedroom and heading into the living room, she turned on the CB radio and called out, "Mr. Gummer, this is Allison. Do you read?" About a minute and a half later, she was about to call again when she got a response.

 **"Allison, I read you. Over."**

"There's a situation. I need you to get back here. Over."

 **"What is the situation? Over."**

"Our very existence is being compromised. We are not in immediate danger, but the situation is dire. I cannot discuss via transmission. I need to talk to you in person. Over."

 **"Has Larry done something stupid again?"**

"No, it's not Larry."

 **"If it's not Larry, and if you are not under attack the situation can wait Civilian. ETA is 7 days. Burt over and out."**

"Burt! Burt!" But he wasn't answering. _'If Burt is calling me Civilian, then he is obviously running on a short fuse. I probably should have told him the details.'_ Thought Allison, but she knew she had to follow Burt's rules. Unless the conversation was with the other residents of the Valley or Twitchell, El Blanco was not to be mentioned via CB, only on walkie-talkie around the Valley perimeter. _'Hey maybe Uncle Tyler can help!'_ Right then said uncle entered their trailer. "Uncle Tyler-

"Hey Ally-Cat, I've got to help Twitch with something. You're gonna bunk at Nancy's place at night until I get back."

"But- "

Before she could protest, Tyler kissed her on the top of her head and left. _'Great. Rosalita is frightened to death of the Graboid. Jodi won't go near El Blanco and neither will Nancy. Which means El Blanco's life rests in my hands for the week.'_

* * *

 _Later that night…_

She was tossing and turning in bed in Nancy's guest room. Not being able to sleep, she went outside and found Nancy, drinking a cup of tea and sitting in a lawn chair with a battery-operated lantern sitting nearby on a small table. Hearing the front door open, Nancy looked up. "Allison? What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," she replied, shrugging.

"Come on, sit down." Allison sat on the cement border around the house and leaned back, her body resting against the exterior walls of Nancy's residence. While Allison got settled, Nancy poured her a cup of tea from a thermos. Being handed the cup, Allison sipped on the hot beverage. As she did so, Nancy looked at her. "Is everything okay?" she asked the teenager. Allison just shrugged again. "Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

Standing back up, Allison handed the cup back to Nancy. "I know. Thanks Nancy," she told her, hugging the older woman. "Night."

"Good night sweetie." Nancy replied, hugging Allison back, before the teen went back inside and back to sleep.

* * *

 _The next morning…_

Nancy was having tea with Jodi (who was having coffee), at 7:02 AM. The two women were just chatting when Rosalita entered the store and joined the two women. "Morning," Rosalita said, then yawned.

"Good morning," Nancy replied. "Morning," Jodi said also. "Coffee?" she asked the ranch owner, pouring some of the black liquid into a mug.

" _Oh Díos sí,"_ Rosalita mumbled as she sleepily reached for the mug and took a seat at the counter. After a few sips of the hot beverage, she was much more awake. Rosalita had never been much of a morning person. Owning a ranch had changed that, though not by much so coffee was an absolute necessity in the morning. "So where's Allison?" she asked Nancy.

"Still in bed. She didn't sleep too well last night, so I figured I'd let her sleep in a bit. I'm gonna check on her when I'm done with this cup," Nancy said.

"You won't need to check on her." Jodi told Nancy. "She's up now." After handing Rosalita her coffee Jodi went to the front of the store. Now standing by the entrance, she saw Allison leave Nancy's house before going over to the trailer. Nancy and Rosalita came over as well, just in time to see the teen leave the trailer only a minute after entering it. Except now she was wearing her backpack and running out deep into the Valley.

"I wonder where she's going this early in the morning," Nancy asked aloud. "She shouldn't need her backpack for a morning run." Jodi stated.

Rosalita picked up her walkie talkie from the counter. "Hey Harlowe?"

 ** _"Yeah Rosa, this is Harlowe. I read you."_**

"Ally's out for a run, but something's up. Can you check on her?"

 ** _"Sure thing. What direction?"_**

Jodi grabbed the map of the Valley and put it on the counter for Rosalita to reference. "If she stays on a straight path, she'll be coming in about a half-mile from the west edge of the ranch."

 ** _"Okay, I'll do a quick circle of the ranch just to be sure. If I don't spot her, then I'll head in that direction and come towards you guys. Does she have her radio on her?"_**

"She should, but we haven't tried it yet." Jodi replied, taking Rosalita's walkie-talkie for a brief moment.

 ** _"I'll see if I can find her. I'll radio you soon. Harlowe out."_**

With that reply, now the residents were left to wait and find out what was going on.

* * *

After being asked to go check on Allison, the ranch hand quickly saddled up Pepé and rode off, doing a circle around the ranch, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the teenager.

It was on the south-west edge of the property that he almost missed her. Harlowe had dismounted the paint horse to remove a rock from the animal's hoof, but once he was back in the saddle again **(LOL)** he thought he saw something in the distance. Using the binoculars that were around his neck, he peered through them. "There you are," he whispered, having spotted Allison. "What are you doing way out there?" he wondered. Giving the command to the horse, he rode off in the direction the teen.

* * *

As Allison ran through the Valley and soon came to the area where El Blanco lay above ground, she did her best her rehydrate the Graboid. Soothing the dry exoskeleton and giving the creature water from her canteen, she lay out some steak that she had found in the back of the freezer. The label on the bag said it would expire soon, so she figured this was the best way to get rid of the meat before it went bad.

But she was worried. El Blanco drank the water, but he wouldn't even touch the meat, let alone sniff it with its tongues. The Graboid wasn't doing good. It was then she knew she needed to get some help. El Blanco cried out causing her to look around and see what was setting off the creature.

It was Harlowe, riding over towards her. As he got closer, he saw why she was this far out in the Valley. "Ali," he said, before dismounting and slowly walking over near her. "What happened?"

"El Blanco's hurt bad. I'm doing the best I can, but he's getting worse. I've got the Graboid hydrated, but he's not eating today. We need to get him some help."

Harlowe sighed at the sight of the injured creature. He knew Allison was right, but this was not his area of expertise. "Come on kid, let's get back into town and radio for backup."

Allison nodded and left with Harlowe, hoping that something could be done to save the creature.


	5. Chapter 5

Getting back to town, Harlowe dismounted Pepé, then helped Allison down off the horse. The two of them went into the store where the other residents were waiting for them. Nancy practically ambushed the teenager, making sure she was alright. Once the worried woman was satisfied, Jodi hugged her, just as worried but not as panicked.

While the emotional attack was focused on the teen girl, Rosalita asked Harlowe, "Is everything okay?"

"Well," Harlowe said hesitantly as he took off his cowboy hat, setting it on the counter and scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Not exactly."

Nancy sat Allison down and asked her, "Okay Allison, what's going on?" The others, minus Harlowe, surrounded her, making her nervous. _'I am in SO much trouble'_ she thought. So, in her nervousness, she blurted out in a run-on sentence, "Elblancosdying."

"Huh?" Jodi asked. "Can you say that a bit slower?"

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she said again, "El Blanco…well…he's hurt bad. I think he's dying." The look she was given by the residents urged her to continue. So Allison re-capped everything that had happened since yesterday morning on her run; from finding the injured Graboid to the shopping trip and what she had realized this morning. "It's not doing so good. The thing is El Blanco was fine yesterday even if he didn't like the hamburger meat I gave him."

"Was the meat bad?" Nancy asked Allison. Ally shook her head no. "When Jodi and I got back from the store, I took it right out there to him. I just don't think he was thrilled about it because it wasn't a live animal. But I told him I'm not catching a live animal and he seemed to get that." Nancy, Jodi and Rosalita all had confused looks on their faces, but Harlowe, who had stayed quiet until now, was the one who asked her, "What do you mean he seemed to get that?"

"I think El Blanco can understand us. Not completely, but little bits here and there. See after he ate the meat that I gave him, I was confused on why he ate it when he refused it at first. So, I used Jodi's laptop and looked up some stuff online," then she sighed, realizing it might be easier to show them rather than verbally explain. Allison reached behind the counter and took Jodi's laptop. Booting it up she pulled up Jodi's history and recent tabs, re-opening the ones she had searched for yesterday. Pulling up the science articles and graphs, she moved aside and showed the others the computer screen. "If El Blanco can sense vibrations, then he can hear us and with how long the creature has existed he can understand basic language. I think it's kinda like a dog with how they can understand the words **FOOD** and **NO**. Things like that. El Blanco can understand basic words, maybe more."

The residents were astonished at this breakthrough concerning the creature, but the scientific discovery would have to wait for now. There was a more pressing matter at hand. "Allison," Nancy asked, "When you knew El Blanco was hurt, why didn't you tell someone?"

"I tried, but I couldn't tell Burt the details because of the Graboid Silence rule. You know, unless one is in the Valley perimeter, conversation regarding El Blanco is kept quiet. So he thought it wasn't an emergency. Uncle Tyler just took off with Twitchell and you guys are scared to death of the Graboid, so I didn't think you would go near it. Injured or not."

"Well, now we know," Nancy told Allison. "And we can help." Rosalita said and Harlowe nodded in agreement. "But we're gonna need backup." Jodi chimed in.

 ** _A/N: Yep, cliffhanger…_**

 ** _So next time on Tremors- The Life of an Ally Cat, help is called in to save El Blanco and protect the Valley. Who will it be? Stay tuned!_**


End file.
